Walking dolls

ABSTRACT

A walking doll of the kind in which the upper part of the body receives an alternate lateral rocking movement in relation to the lower part bearing the legs, characterized in that said lower part is connected to arms which are mounted pivotally on the upper part, in such manner that said arms receive an alternate angular displacement in synchronism with the pivoting of the legs.

United States Patent Giroud [151 3,704,543 [451 Dec. 5, 1972 [54]WALKING DOLLS [72] Inventor: Germain Giroud, Moingt-par- Montbrison,Loire, France [22] Filed: July 27, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 166,407

[30] Foreign Application Priority Date Aug. 5, 1970 France ..7029608[52] U.S. Cl ..46/150 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63h 11/14 [58] Field of Search..46/ 149, 150, 245, 247 l63 [S6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS921 92.... 19! 1. .1. .mgl dii fl 3 23.111"?1""31123"11 192,

3,611,625 10/1971 Sloop et al ..46/247 1,992,477 2/1935 Domowitch et al.

Primary Examiner--Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-D. L. WeinholdAttorney--Arthur E. Dowel], Jr. et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A walking doll of the kind in which the upper part of thebody receives an alternate lateral rocking movement in relation to thelower part bearing the legs, characterized in that said lower part isconnected to arms which are mounted pivotally on the upper part, in suchmanner that said arms receive an alternate angular displacement insynchronism with the pivoting of the legs;

' 4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED BEE 5 I97? 3, 704, 543

INVENTOR BY AQMW ATTORNB PATENTEDDEC 5 I972 3, 543

' sum 2 or 2 WALKING DOLLS This invention relates to walking dollswherein alternate pivoting of the legs, which are interconnected by anarticulated rocking lever, is produced by periodically shifting thecenter of gravity of the body in relation to the central vertical axisof the legs.

The invention is applicable more particularly, but not exclusively, towalking doll systems of the kind described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,435granted on Dec.

' l, 1970 to same applicant.

in dolls of this kind, of course, the actual body of the doll is formedby the articulated assembly of two superposed parts and contains amechanism adapted to impart an alternate lateral rocking movement to thetop part or trunk bearing the arms. The legs are mounted pivotally onthe bottom part or pelvis, and they are interconnected by a rockinglever so devised as to produce angular displacement of the leg which israised when the weight of the assembly rests on the opposite leg inconsequence of the lateral inclination of the said trunk.

The object of the improvements according to the present invention is toimprove the walking of a doll of this kind to make it more lifelike incomparison with the way in which a very young child walks.

According to the invention, there is provided a walking doll of the kindin which the upper part of the body receives an alternate lateralrocking movement inrelation to the lower part bearing the legs, whereinsaid lower part is connected to arms which are mounted pivotally on theupper part, in such manner that said arms receive an alternate angulardisplacement in synchronism with the pivoting of the legs. 7

I According to a preferred embodiment of the above system, theconnecting members provided between the bottom part of the body and thearms are formed by metal rods or wires associated with springs adaptedto amplify the angular movement of the said arms.

The invention will be more readily understood from an embodimentthereof, which is given by way of example, and described with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which: I

FIG. 1 is a partial elevation, the elementwhich forms the back of thedoll having been removed in order to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic vertical section on the line llll (FIG. 1).

The walking doll illustrated is of the type described in the U.S. Pat.No. 3,543,435 indicated hereinbefore. The body comprises a lower part orpelvis l laterally drilled for the pivotal engagement of the horizontalextension 2a of each of the two legs 2 of the doll. The open bottom edgeof the top part 4 or trunk forming the support for the head A ispivotally secured at 3 and 3a to the pelvis 1, and said trunk is formedby an assembly of two elements corresponding to the back and front ofthe doll. The trunk 4 contains an electric motor 5 fed by a battery (notshown), a worm 6 being secured to the output shaft of the motor andco-operating with a worm wheel 7 keyed on a shaft end 8 bearing aneccentric crank pin 9. The latter engages in a slot 10a formed in thetop end of a rod 10 extending substantially verticallyythe bottom of therod 10 is connected to the pelvis 1 so that when the latter bears on theground through the agency of the legs 2; rotation of the crank pin 9transmits to the trunk 1 a periodic rocking movement about the pivotpoints 3 and 3a.

As in the above mentioned patent the extensions 2a of the legs 2 areinterconnected by a rocking lever which is articulated at its centerpoint on a vertical projection of the pelvis 1 so that the reaction fromthe ground of whichever of the legs is bearing the weight of the doll,allowing for the inclination of the trunk 4, causes angular movement ofthe opposite leg.

According to the present invention, the periodic rocking movement of thetrunk 4 about the axes 3 and 3a is utilized to control the pivoting ofthe dolls arms 11 alternately.

For this purpose, the ends of two wires 12 are secured to a horizontalcross member 1a (FIG. 2) of the pelvis l. The wires 12 extendsubstantially vertically and their top ends are attachedto springs 13,the opposite ends of which are secured to a projection or crank pin 14.Each of the latter is borne eccentrically by a cylindrical plate 15extending freely through the aperture formed in the trunk 4 for thearticulation of the corresponding arm 11, said plate being'provided witha central hub 15a mounted pivotally on the projecting end of a spindle16 held in a horizontal cross member 4a of the trunk 4. Each of the arms11 has an extension 11a of smaller diameter which is retained angularlyand axially inside the open outer surface of the corresponding plate 15which is provided with an inner annular projection 15b for this purpose.The outer wall of each plate 15 has two teeth or projections 15c adaptedto co-operate with a fixed stop 4b of the trunk 4 as will be seenhereinafter.

It will be apparent that during normal operation of the walking doll the'cross member 1a forms a fixed,

point for the two wires 12 and the alternate rocking movement of thetrunk 4 in relation to the pelvis 1 imparts a tractive effect towhichever of the wires 12 (the one on the left in FIG. 1) is turned tothe opposite side to that to which the trunk is inclined, so that theprojection 14 of the corresponding arm descends and causes the pivotingmovement of said arm. On the rocking movement towards the opposite side(shown in broken linesin FIG. 1) the other arm 11 will be moved so thatthe two arms 11 of the doll receive an alternate pivoting movement insynchronism with the angular movement of the legs 2.

If the connecting members formed by the wires 12 I were rigid, thepivoting angle of each arm would be greatly limited; the interpositionof the springs 13, which introduce a resilient inertia effect into thesystem, causes this angle to reach a very much greater value. It willalso be apparent that the springs 13 allow the arms 11 a certain angularfreedom which obviously would not be the cause if they were rigidlysecured to the pelvis 1. The angular offset of the arms 11 in relationto the dolls body can be adjusted by turning the extensions 11a in theplates 15 with some force; all that needs to be done is for one or otherof the teeth 15c to be brought against the fixed stop 4b in orderangularly to block the plate 15 in question, and the arm 11 to berotated so that the extension 11a is pivoted inside the projection 15b.

Of course the invention is applicable to other walking doll systems; allthat is required is that the top part bearing the arms should receive analternate rocking movement in relation to the part connected to thelegs.

lclaim:

l. A walking doll of the kind in which the upper part of the bodyreceives an alternate lateral rocking movement in relation to the lowerpart bearing the legs, wherein said lower part is connected to armswhich are mounted pivotally on the upper part, in such manner that saidarms receive an alternate angular displacement in synchronism with thepivoting of the legs; wherein the connected members provided between thelower part and the arms are formed by wires or rods associated withresilient means in order to amplify the pivoting angle of said arms.

2. A doll according to claim 1, wherein the resilient means associatedwith each wire or rod are formed by a spring, one end of which isattached to the said wire while the opposite end is attached to aneccentric crank pin connected to the corresponding arm.

3. A doll according to claim 2, wherein the crank pin is formed by aprojection connected to a rotating plate which is a force-fit on the endof the arm, said plate having a central hub mounted loosely on a fixedspindie.

4. A doll according to claim 3, wherein each plate has two teeth adaptedto come into contact with-a fixed stop in order to lock said plateangularly and in order to allow pivoting of the corresponding arm withforce for angular adjustment of said arm in relation to the body.

1. A walking doll of the kind in which the upper part of the bodyreceives an alternate lateral rocking movement in relation to the lowerpart bearing the legs, wherein said lower part is connected to armswhich are mounted pivotally on the upper part, in such manner that saIdarms receive an alternate angular displacement in synchronism with thepivoting of the legs; wherein the connected members provided between thelower part and the arms are formed by wires or rods associated withresilient means in order to amplify the pivoting angle of said arms. 2.A doll according to claim 1, wherein the resilient means associated witheach wire or rod are formed by a spring, one end of which is attached tothe said wire while the opposite end is attached to an eccentric crankpin connected to the corresponding arm.
 3. A doll according to claim 2,wherein the crank pin is formed by a projection connected to a rotatingplate which is a force-fit on the end of the arm, said plate having acentral hub mounted loosely on a fixed spindle.
 4. A doll according toclaim 3, wherein each plate has two teeth adapted to come into contactwith a fixed stop in order to lock said plate angularly and in order toallow pivoting of the corresponding arm with force for angularadjustment of said arm in relation to the body.